Samhain, the holy day of the Ancestors, is observed from sundown October 31 through November 1. Samhain honors the dark Divine Feminine, the “dark half” of the year, marks the onset of winter, and is the Celtic New Year.
As a time when one cycle ends and a new one begins, Celtic tradition teaches that the veil separating the manifest world from the supernal realms is particularly thin and open during Samhain. In consequence to the “break” in the flow of time, Samhain is an opportunity for profound mystical transformation. Like Lag B’Omer, mystical bonfires have a role in the observance of Samhain.
The word Samhain derives from the Proto-Celtic word samani, which means “assembly” (cognate to Sanskrit sámana). [1] The Hebrew equivalent to Samhain is the word כינוס from the root כנס meaning “assembling”, “gathering” and “bringing together”. This root is found in Tehilim 147:2 …
“The L-rd rebuilds Jerusalem; She gathers in the exiles of Israel.”
:בונה ירושלם יהוה; נדחי ישראל יכנס
The first word in this pasuk is “boneh” בונה from the same root as Binah, a feminine sefirah of the “dark” left emanantion. Literally, the first part of this pasuk reads like a command “build Jerusalem Hashem!” The Divine She is She who commands it be done.
Thus, the secret of Samhain, a holy day of proto-Celtic origin, is mystically connected to the commands to rebuild Jerusalem and to ingather the exiles. Moreover, these commands are directly related to the “dark” Divine Feminine principle, which indeed, Samhain celebrates.
Also, given the bonfire connection to both Lag B’Omer and Samhain, and where Lag B’Omer is called the “Scholars’ Festival” (pertaining to men), I hereby dedicate Samhain to be the “Scholars’ Festival” (pertaining to women).
Footnote:
[1] W. Stokes in KZ 40:245 (1907), see here
Liorah
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